Whoa, it's that time again! Yet another NaNoWriMo is looming closer. Another chance to beat those filthy cow-smelling people-shaped things from Greeley! AGAIN! (By, you know, doing our duties as writers and putting 50,000+ words down.)
Hello, wonderful people of Fort Collins and surrounding Colorado places! My name is Crash and I am NOT your Municipal Liaison for NaNoWriMo! (At least last I checked.)
What is a Municipal Liaison, exactly? They'll be organizing events during November as well as the Kick-Off Party (Midnight, Halloween/All Saint's!) and the End of Days Party, which will be in the first week of December. Not only that, but they will also be sending out pep talks and other craziness.
But like I said, I'm not one of them. I'm just another overly-imaginative person who likes to attempt to distill my brain droppings into sensical stories. This will be my second year of putting effort into this madness and I'm highly excited to get going. I'm 27 and will be wearing my red derby to each and every write-in I attend this year. I plan to be the beacon announcing the FoCoNaNo presence!
This year, I'm writing a novel intended for young adults in which a boy finds out his grandfather is a kobold.
If I recruited you, I apologize in advance for getting you into this. If you're back for more this year, I apologize for everything I did last year. If this is your first year and I didn't give you the idea, I'm not sorry at all and look forward to torturing you.
That said, it's fun, I swear! You wont regret it!
So let us know you're here!
- Crash
ONLY 35 DAYS, 3 HOURS, 37 MINUTES LEFT AS OF THIS POST!
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Crash, Fort Collins, CO.
"Why do I have this imagination? It's the only one I've got." - Neil Gaiman
0 / 50,000
sept. 26, 2008 - 19 29
That signature says I'm the ML. I'm NOT. But I was for Script Frenzy and it's a single account. I also cannot edit the above post.
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Crash, Fort Collins, CO.
"Why do I have this imagination? It's the only one I've got." - Neil Gaiman
50,723 / 50,000
sept. 26, 2008 - 20 54
Have fun torturing me~! I'll wear my lovely 4-feathered writing hat to every write in! I'm turning 14 on October 18, and am brutally scared and psyched for my first year NaNoing!
50,135 / 50,000
sept. 27, 2008 - 10 37
I'm another young FoCoWrimo, 13. This is my second year and it'll be a blast.
Oh, and FoCo's going to whoop Greeley big time.
163,261 / 50,000
sept. 27, 2008 - 12 11
You cheater. :) You copied and pasted half of that. It's because I'm brilliant, I know, and you're jealous of my writing skillz.
Hey, all! I'm Skye/Skyla and I am your arch nemesis! I am the ML of Greeley! But I love you guys, so I'll be at as many of your events as I can make it to (you are also invited to mine if you dare to brave the smell). I'll be the one with the coolest hat ever.
My novel is going to have something to do with a vampire and a doctor set in a fantasy world. The vampire is addicted to blood and it gives him some kind of very forbidden black magic. And there will be flashbacks and I'm dearly hoping this won't be a repeat of my '06 novel because it's seeming kind of similar and I hated my '06 novel.
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"I wish I kissed you before that Potter kid." - The Remus Lupins
ML for Greeley, CO
0 / 50,000
sept. 27, 2008 - 14 43
Welcome, Mai and Midget!
And Skye, it's called "parody". ;)
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Crash, Fort Collins, CO.
"Why do I have this imagination? It's the only one I've got." - Neil Gaiman
163,261 / 50,000
sept. 27, 2008 - 19 53
Psh. I still say it's jealousy because you know we let you win last year.
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"I wish I kissed you before that Potter kid." - The Remus Lupins
ML for Greeley, CO
0 / 50,000
sept. 27, 2008 - 20 26
Everyone, this is Skye. She smells like cows and broke the 50,000 last year by inserting "Moo" as every other word.
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Crash, Fort Collins, CO.
"Why do I have this imagination? It's the only one I've got." - Neil Gaiman
80,196 / 50,000
sept. 27, 2008 - 21 30
Hello, my dearest FoCo WriMos! My name is Jaina, or Brittany if you're into that whole "real name" thing. This will be my fourth year doing NaNo and hopefully my fourth year winning NaNo as well! I absolutely adore it here and wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.
Sadly, I no longer live in Fort Collins (and believe me, I am very sad about it!) so I won't be able to join you at all those exciting events. BUT, I'm only down in Colorado Springs, so I might drop by a write-in or two, if I happen to be in the area. And I'll probably still hang around the boards, cause I miss you guys. Oh... and if you'll let me be an honorary FoCo WriMo I'd be delighted to help you thrash Greeley again. Cause I'm definitely going for four years running of "Greeley stinks" in my NaNo novels. :)
This year, I'm writing another fairy-tale inspired YA fantasy type thing. And by "fairy-tale inspired" I mean that I start with the same basic scenario as a fairy tale and then take it where I want it to go, which last year resulted in Cinderella taking matters into her own hands, finding the prince and helping him regain the kingdom from a scheming uncle, all the while trying to keep her clueless stepmother from forcing dear prince charming to marry her stepsister. Who happens to be already married to another man.
So. This year it's Snow White. I don't know where it's going, but I'm super excited to find out!
Love to all, and many, many words,
-----------Jaya-
"A man can't be always defending the truth; there must be some time for him to feed on it." - C. S. Lewis
50,136 / 50,000
sept. 28, 2008 - 15 20
i'm practically pooping with excitement!
I'm Danielle. This is my second year and I don't have any idea what i'm writing this year. Regardless, though, it'll be fun. :D
----------Biting my truant pen,
Beating myself for spite,
"Fool!" said my muse to me,
"Look in thy heart and write."
-Sir Philip Sydney
50,723 / 50,000
sept. 28, 2008 - 17 03
My hat will be the mighty one. It has 4 feathers and 18 little pin things on it. And it also has "NaNoWriMo" stitched on the front. Face it. My hat rocks.
0 / 50,000
sept. 29, 2008 - 09 05
Well, at least you wont be bringing us dead birds anymore since your jingly hat warns them of your presence.
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----------Crash, Fort Collins, CO.
"Why do I have this imagination? It's the only one I've got." - Neil Gaiman
-----------
Crash, Fort Collins, CO.
"Why do I have this imagination? It's the only one I've got." - Neil Gaiman
163,261 / 50,000
sept. 29, 2008 - 16 11
Hmm. Your hat is cool. I only have one feather, but it's a feather pin and I think made of many different feathers. And now I have to count my pins to see how they comare.
For the record, I have three NaNo pins if that wins any points.
Ah, I have fourty. And a dragon charm that I claim wards off evil.
We should get together at write-ins and take pictures with our hats on. I call mine the Helmet of Brilliance!
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"I wish I kissed you before that Potter kid." - The Remus Lupins
ML for Greeley, CO
20,908 / 50,000
sept. 29, 2008 - 18 36
But Skye, if the dragon pin on your helmet of brilliance wards off evil, how can Crash get within a ten foot radius of you? He's told me he's made of evil, or at least parts of him are....
Hi FoCo wrimos, I'm Kas. Like Jaina, I no longer live in Fort Collins and am sad not to participate in the write-in fun. I'll probably poke my head in for a few rounds of "Ra Ra FoCo!" and "Greeley Stinks!" If it's possible for me to squeeze enough hours out of my packed schedule by the time November rolls around, I might write a half-novel or so. Heck, I might even decide sleep, grad school, and my job just aren't as cool as NaNo and write the whole 50k. NaNo has this annoying habit of getting me all revved up and I participate despite protesting.
You new folks will quickly see just how addictive, painful, and fun NaNoWriMo is. Really, you will. I'm jealous.
Skye and our dear MLs should chat as to whether us sort-of FoCo people can participate in the annual inter-city butt kicking. I believe in years past people who just identified as FoCo or Greeley were allowed in, but I may be making that up. So I say, confer amongst yourselves.
Cheers,
Kas
51,082 / 50,000
sept. 29, 2008 - 21 03
Have I really not posted on this thread at all?
Hi guys. I'm catnip_martini, Rylla, Cate, Johnny, whatever you want to call me. I'm eighteen. This will be my second NaNoWriMo, and I plan for it to be my second win as well (it will be my third novel, all told). I'm taking the easy way out and writing a sequel to my first NaNo novel but I'm very excited nonetheless, and I know it will be a good one.
I'm looking forward to hanging out with all my NaNo friends, as well as meeting everyone who's new! I plan to come to every write-in that I can make it to; I'm even putting away $150 out of my advance on my joint book contract with my dad so that I can go to the Alley Cat for write-ins.
For the younger Wrimos, please let me know if you need a ride to write-ins! They're a great creative boost and I strongly encourage anyone who can make it to come to as many as possible. I did probably seventy percent of my writing last year either at or after write-ins-- and I only spent about a third of my writing time at them. As we approach the date I'll put my phone number in my signature so you can call me if you need a ride. :) I'm all for being the vehicular liaison. :P
Peace!
- catnip_martini
----------163,261 / 50,000
sept. 29, 2008 - 21 23
Shoot! You mean my hat's broken? Fail!
Skye and our dear MLs should chat as to whether us sort-of FoCo people can participate in the annual inter-city butt kicking. I believe in years past people who just identified as FoCo or Greeley were allowed in, but I may be making that up. So I say, confer amongst yourselves.
Sure, I'll shoot them an email. You bunch of dirty cheaters. That way, if you beat us (which you totally WON'T!) I'll complain about you being cheaters and how we actually deserved to win.
But in my book, it's all about the fun and getting novels written. Even though Greeley is terribly outnumbered. Some of you FoCoNaNos should join my team. Because... Margies has good sandwiches. That's a good enough reason, right? Yeah. Totally.
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----------ML for Greeley, CO
www.firstgiving.com/skyewoestehoff
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"I wish I kissed you before that Potter kid." - The Remus Lupins
ML for Greeley, CO
0 / 50,000
sept. 29, 2008 - 21 51
I am, in reality, pure evil. That pureness is what makes it so that I don't seem so evil. Your hat isn't broken, just like a shovel isn't broken when it can't turn a mountain into a canyon.
The terribly outnumbered bit is actually a handicap for us, since the contest is based on percentages. So put that in your pipe, Cowgirl!
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Crash, Fort Collins, CO.
"Why do I have this imagination? It's the only one I've got." - Neil Gaiman
50,723 / 50,000
oct. 2, 2008 - 19 24
We should! Mine isn't named yet. Are we doing any write-ins at half moon bay this year? We should try to get one at the butter cream cupcake place thingy; they're small, but have killer chocolate.
P.S.
If you see me, I have brown hair and blue eyes and glasses. (Yes, I'm blind. 20/800 vision) About 5'3" with the crazy hat. You'll probably see me~! (Wow...that could almost be a threat...)
60,064 / 50,000
oct. 3, 2008 - 06 36
Hello everyone. This will be my first nanowrimo in Fort Collins - my husband and I moved here last October and life was simply still toocrazy for me to participate last year. I've embarked on this venture twice before (2004 and 2005 I believe) and have yet to win as my personal writing bugaboo seems to be sticking to any one project for long enough to finish. I'm like a crow: frequently distracted by shiny things. My weekly writing group back home in Michigan was good for keeping me in line, but I've yet to find similarly lovely writing bullies here in FC.
This year I am going back to a novel I started while in law school (yes, I used to be an attorney, but am over that now). I no longer have the first draft chapters, so I'll be starting fresh on an old idea. I figure that if the story idea still haunts me ten years later, it's probably worth revisiting. It's a kind of coming-of-age riff on the old Pygmalian story, with (I hope) a dark and creepy feel. It's set in the Berkshires (western Massachusetts) where I went to college, and features a labrynth, an ice cream shop, a wealthy couple's country estate, a priest, and several fantasy elements. I'm going to begin outlining chapters this month so that I can start writing on 11/1.
-Kaki
70,060 / 50,000
oct. 3, 2008 - 07 04
Hi all. I wrote an introduction once already, but apparently the 1 October Blues that the NaNoWriMo site was singing deleted everything I did over the weekend.
So once again, my name is Drew and this will be my fourth NaNoWriMo and hopefully my fourth win. Last year I basically wrote the story that I eventually want to make into a script. The novel form seems easier for me when it comes to exploring a story and the characters that inhabit it. It worked a treat and I am going to be doing the same thing again this November. All that I can say right now is that the story is chock full of conspiracies.
In addition to writing, you will probably see a fair amount of cheer leading coming from me, whether you like it or not. Somehow NaNoWriMo brings out the positive, perky extrovert in me.
Welcome to Fort Collins, kakiphony. I went to grad school for a couple of years in Western Massachusetts. UMass Amherst, though I lived in Northampton, just down the hill from Smith. I liked it so much that I modeled the locale of my first NaNovel heavily upon those towns.
I am already looking forward to the Fort Collins v. Greeley battle. For those who are new, you only have to participate if you want to, so don't get all stressed and feel like you are out of the other activities if you don't want to. And don't beileve what Skye tells you. Greeley is the one that only won--and barely--because they cheated. Fort Collins wins because of a surplus of awesomeness.
Just as a suggestion to the MLs as you broker the terms of engagement. How about two races, two goals. 1) Greatest percentage of winners, just like the past two years. 2) Greatest average word count, like we did the first year. That gives both towns a chance to win something. More importantly, it encourages people who are quite behind and think that they cannot win to keep writing; every word they write helps the average.
Go Team! - drew...who is just warming up his pom poms...
----------(anthony | drew) schwickerath | nanowrimo blog
60,064 / 50,000
oct. 3, 2008 - 07 45
Drew - My husband's heart is here in CO, but mine will always be in the Berks. The "hills" intimidate me less than the mountains, and I'm addicted to green. I lived in Great Barrington, but went into Northampton fairly regularly for shows (Ani DiFranco used to play there fairly regularly back in my day.) I suspect that the sinking library at UMass Amherst will make at least one appearance in my fic. I spent many hours there my senior year of college working on my thesis since my school's library was teeny tiny and lacked the periodicals I needed.
I think this "battle" business sounds like a great motivation tool, and boy do I need motivation! I'm game.
70,060 / 50,000
oct. 3, 2008 - 10 30
I had nearly forgotten about the UMass library. When I was there (96-98), they had fences around it to keep people clear of the falling bricks. Alternate floors were empty to reduce the weight load. So typical of that school and their poor construction choices. I had electronic music in the fine arts complex. They claimed that it looked like a grand piano, but really it was just a perfect example of bad/ugly architecture.
The FoCo v. Greality battle is epic, motivational, and a total blast. I am certain that once this years terms are worked out, a new thread will be started to explain this years details and to recruit. Based on previous years, it will probably happen mid-month.
Seeing that it is only the 3rd seems insane. I feel pretty much ready to get rolling now. Of course on the 31st I will probably be panicked that I do not like what I am going to be writing about.
Until then, I am just looking forward to seeing the rest of the old and the new gang popping their heads in as the next few weeks fly past.
Tschuess - drew...who needs to calm down and get some music written now...
----------(anthony | drew) schwickerath | nanowrimo blog
80,196 / 50,000
oct. 3, 2008 - 10 58
Hey Kaki - I have real problems sticking to one project long enough to finish it, too. I'm easily distracted by shiny new plot ideas especially. Whatever comes next always sounds way more interesting than whatever I'm working on at the moment!
But the FoCo Wrimos are an awesome source of motivation. If you let us (yes, us, I'll always be a FoCo at heart no matter how far I roam), we'll hound and badger and shame you into completing something all during one crazy month, and it will be amazingly cool. Because we rock like that.
That said, may I suggest attending write-ins? Nothing for motivation, I find, like the disapproving stares from fellow WriMos as you distract yourself with shiny things. ;) And the friendly competitions. Definitely very useful in keeping you on track. :)
-Jaya-
----------"A man can't be always defending the truth; there must be some time for him to feed on it." - C. S. Lewis
60,064 / 50,000
oct. 3, 2008 - 11 11
Thanks Jaya! I will definitely be attending some write-ins. Strangely, I actually spent a good bit of last winter writing (from a bit bfeore 7 to a bit before 8) each morning at the Alley Cat. I rode into town early with the hubster to get some writing time away from all the distractions at home.
Shiny things are fuuuuuun, but deadly to productivity. I have four novels in progress because they were all shiny at some point in time. (Two YA supernatural suspense novels, a "classic" fantasy, and a chic-lit meets the West Wing bit of fluff.) My goal for the next year is to just finish SOMETHING.
0 / 50,000
oct. 3, 2008 - 12 13
Welcome to the murder!
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Crash, Fort Collins, CO.
"Why do I have this imagination? It's the only one I've got." - Neil Gaiman
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Crash, Fort Collins, CO.
"Why do I have this imagination? It's the only one I've got." - Neil Gaiman
50,035 / 50,000
oct. 3, 2008 - 12 35
YAY!
I'm Allie. I was around last year. I'm going for my 6th official win (7th if you include JaNoWriMo in January one year). I am so excited I can hardly form words, and that's what this is supposed to be about. Hmm.
Let's see here. I don't really know what I'm writing about, but I kind of do. I'm nervous about my plot--I'm going for 100,000 this year and I'm not entirely sure the book will go that long. Maybe I'll try my hand at doing absolutely no planning whatsoever. It seems to work out for me.
YAYi'msoexcited.
----------158,011 / 50,000
oct. 4, 2008 - 07 13
The name's Nick. Last year, I did a Star Wars fanfic sort of thing where I rewrote The Phantom Menace, and it sucked less than the movie did. I had Bail Organa, Owen actually was Anakin's real brother, Anakin was older, and Mace Windu was evil. It even dealt with the origins of the Millennium Falcon, believe it or not. And I finished out around 55K, so that was cool. The year before, I wrote myself into a corner and eventually won by C/Ping a chapter that I intended to rewrite via a temporal reflux paradox. Never did get around to rewriting it, and I don't have as much enthusiasm for the story as when I started.
This year, I'm going to be writing a very violent fantasy story with many weapons, werewolves, vampires, harpies, demons, a few princes, three kings, no elves, and one gigantic mountain. The inspiration? The song "One Tin Soldier". I have no character list. I have no idea how I'm gonna' make this work. In fact, it's gonna' go in a slightly different direction from the way the song goes - it's two true kingdoms, with expansive geography, instead of valley people and mountain people - although anybody who knows the song can pretty much figure out the ending, so I'll probably be popping in to a title thread at some point to figure out a different one.
Still living in FoCo, but I work at DIA Sundays through Tuesdays, and I do this pro wrestling training thing on Wednesdays, so you won't be seeing me all that often. However, I have a new Mac, so I won't need to drag along all of the crap that I had to bring with me last year in order to write.
Oh, and Greeley does stink (literally), but I've got a friend down there - going to see her next week, actually - so it can't be all bad, right?
EDIT: I won last year on a different account, but I forgot the password, and it won't let me log on while I'm logged in to this one.
----------"You're insane."
"Has it really taken you this long to figure that out?"
- Batman: The Long Halloween
50,733 / 50,000
oct. 4, 2008 - 13 51
I'm Ashe, or Alison, whichever you prefer (though Ashe is shorter and probably easier to type ;) )
This is my first year of NaNo, and I'm really excited. I had looked around the site last year but hadn't joined. I'm a member of www.fictionpress.com, and around this time, the site gets swamped with stories whose summaries say (or will say) "NaNoWriMo 2008" or some such. And I'd always wondered what that was about.
Well, now I know.
I'm not sure how many of the write-ins I'll be able to attend - or if I'll be able to attend any at all. I'm totally blind, as are both my parents, which can make it hard to get to places that are out of the way or whatever. But if I do get there, I probably won't be hard to recognize. I'll be the short one with the white cane (and no outstanding clothing like some of you guys have). ;)
My novel this year is a humor story about a rap group called Grandmother Cubed which is comprised of (you guessed it) grandmas. Three of them. I have high hopes for it, and even if it doesn't get me up to/above the 50k mark, I think I'll still have a whole lot of fun writing it.
Ashe
----------Meet my Muse.
Now meet my Inner Editor.
Now watch my muse beat the crap out of my Inner Editor.
51,067 / 50,000
oct. 4, 2008 - 13 58
Hola mi chicos and chicas! I'm Michelle, aka Michi, aka Niassa, but, alas, I no longer live in Northern Colorado! I know, I know, it's difficult for all of you that knew me last year to know I won't be able to grace you with my cunning linguistic abilities, or my Mountain Dew Ninja skills, or my shiny pink headphones (which I no longer have)... but I might be able to make it up there for a Saturday write-in or two. ;-)
I'm currently down in southern Denver (Lone Tree, to be exact) and will likely be hosting a few write-ins myself so if any of you are down in this area and looking for a place to write, let me know and I'll hook ya up!
Uhh, let's see... this will be my second year doing NaNo... last year I won (officially hit the 50k mark on day 10 *eeeeek* and finished my novel at nearly 105k words on day 29 *double eeeeek*) but this year ought to be interesting. Last year I had a 3-4 hour daily commute that I could devote to writing... I'm not so blessed (cursed?) this year so we'll see how that all goes. Thankfully I have a husband who is quite understanding and mostly doesn't mind being abandoned with the kids while I'm off carousing, err, I mean writing, with people like y'all. LOL
I've got my idea for the novel this year and we'll see how it goes. Currently it's planned out as a YA fiction, but as the novel evolves, so does its category. ;-)
So that's me in a nutshell. Hopefully I'll get to see y'all at least SOME this year!
Peace!
Michi
----------My words, they pour like children from the playground...
20,104 / 50,000
oct. 4, 2008 - 21 11
Welcome to all the newbies and welcome back to all the oldbies. This will be my fourth year of NaNo. I won the first two years and hit 30K last year. I'm hoping to win again this year with a sequel to a novel I started several years ago and finished this year. I am going to try and go to as many write-ins as I can but there is the possibility that I will be taking a class that may conflict with the first part of november. Alas.
Advice to Newbies... Write in's rock!! the only difference between last year and the two years before for me was the number of write-ins I attended, which was not many compared to several. Work schedule was dumb like that. They really do help and are lots of fun.
50,394 / 50,000
oct. 5, 2008 - 22 05
Hello, wonderful people of Fort Collins and surrounding Colorado places! My name is Simmon and...
I AM one of your Municipal Liaisons for NaNoWriMo! (At least last I checked.)
Sorry I haven't been active on here until now. Things have been a little hectic. Tam/Shmoo and I will be returning this year as your MLs. In addition to Crash, our official cheerleader, it sounds like we will be adding Drew/mustbehardtospel as our deputy ML. (We are still working on getting him official status, as there is an alleged two-ML limit per region, but he has agreed to help us out extensively this year and we are pleased to have him, title or no.)
For those of you who have not met me, I have done NaNoWriMo... {counts on fingers} ... the past three years and also Script Frenzy the first year. I did an off-shoot project at one point, resulting in 5 (unedited) manuscripts under my belt. I didn't have a plan for any of those. That didn't stop me, tho. I just started writing and managed to finish every time (despite 2.5 of those being written in Esperanto).
So never fear: If you have no idea what you're going to write about, it doesn't matter. All you have to do is write fast enough to keep one step ahead of your internal editor.
Anyhow, welcome! (Or welcome back, as the case may be!) In the coming weeks we'll be starting threads about the meet-and-greets, the Kick-Off party, write-ins, and other things. Stay tuned!
====
----------traevoli/Simmon
Returning Municipal Liaison for Fort Collins, Colorado
Simmon/traevoli
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Municipal Liaison, Fort Collins, 2007, 2008
NaNoWriMo winner, 2005, 2006, 2007
NaNoWriMo Daily Q&A guest, 2006
Script Frenzy winner, 2007